Bermuda Regiment soldier Major Brian Gonsalves has just returned from a six-month ‘tour of duty' in Sierra Leone where he was part of a training team aimed at improving the skills of that country's military.

And the budget allowing, a second local soldier could be on his way to that African country later this year.

For years Sierra Leone has been involved in a civil war with rebel soldiers over control of the country's diamond trade.

The International Military Advisory Training Team (IMATT) had more than 200 soldiers stationed in various parts of the country, coming from countries like Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia and Bermuda.

“The British had about 95 percent (of the soldiers), the next biggest was Canada with about seven to ten strong, the Americans had three, Australia two and Bermuda one. The French just joined last month and they have two,” explained Major Gonsalves.

“The IMATT's mission was simply to train Sierra Leone's soldiers to soldier. Obviously their soldiering practices and skills weren't where they should have been.”

Said Bermuda Regiment's Lt. Col. David Gibbons: “The bigger picture is to build the infrastructure of the country and the United Nations and other agencies are contributing in various ways.”

Lt. Col. Gibbons described Major Gonsalves' tour as a worthwhile exercise and it paved the way for another Bermudian soldier to carry on where he left off.

“One of the recommendations that came out of the Review 2000 by way of Regiment roles was the Regiment's support to the international community,” explained Lt. Col. Gibbons.

“The Regiment put out some feelers by way of working with the United Nations, or in any operation outside of the United Nations that was part of the Multi-National Peace Keeping Force. We tied in through the Ministry of Defence, the International Military Advisory Training Team (IMATT).

“One of the places where they currently have a team is Sierra Leone, and an officer from the Ministry of Defence came to Bermuda to access us by way of having capable individuals who could fulfill training roles in Sierra Leone. They interviewed Major Gonsalves and subsequently we were offered a position as a member of the training team in Sierra Leone.”

Added Lt. Col. Gibbons: “From my point of view it is a feather in Bermuda's cap as well as the Bermuda Regiment's. With the quality of officers and soldiers and the training that we give them here, it allows us to contribute on an international level.

“Major Gonsalves' posting has been a huge success, both by way of his contribution as well as the interest it has generated within the Regiment, by way of opportunities that we may be able to pursue in the future.

“The assessments of Major Gonsalves' contribution have all been extremely positive, both from the IMATT team as well as the Government and Sierra Leone Defence Force, to the extent that we have been asked if we would be in position to send another person to Sierra Leone to assist with the training.

“We are evaluating that, the invitation is not until next year and we just want to make sure it fits in with the Budget and that the individuals that we have identified are able to go.”

The British Brigadeer who is the head of IMATT is also the Commander of the British Forces in Sierra Leone. The third hat he wears, according to Major Gonsalves, is as the Military Advisor to the President of Sierra Leone.

“I did everything from getting vehicles fixed to getting stationery out to the battalion to setting up two new locations from start to finish,” explained Major Gonsalves, who quit his job at a local bank in order to undertake the trip, also leaving his family behind for six months.

“We also had the elections that came about on May 14 and there was a big campaign, from the IMATT side, that the Military had to be unbiased, apolitical. That was constantly talked about and preached.”

Major Gonsalves was based initially with his team in Kenema in the south-eastern part of the country near the Liberian border, about five hours from the capital Freetown which is on the west coast.

The training involved some 18,000 Sierra Leone soldiers throughout the country.

“All the ex combatants - RUF (Revolutionary United Front), CDF (Civil Defence Force) and soldiers - were were all mixed in together, they were interviewed and once they were deemed fit to join the programme they were put into camps,” explained Major Gonsalves.

“Once they finished that, which was about six weeks or so, they went into the boot camp. After that they are in the military. It's strange how in Sierra Leone where you would have been an RUF who killed my parents or some other atrocity, but a year later you are working next to me as a soldier. They can forgive very easily over there.”

“For two and a half months I was in the Kenema area and for the last three and a half or four months I was in the Freetown area,” explained Major Gonsalves.

Major Gonsalves' battalion was responsible for the international airport area and that enabled him to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair who made a brief visit to the country of about four million.

“Every aid agency that you can think of is in Sierra Leone,” explained Major Gonsalves, saying they are putting a lot of money into rebuilding housing, and water wells. The country is also receiving help in rebuilding roads.

“They key is that the Sierra Leone people get in there and make an effort which they are doing. For the six months I was there there was a lot of healing going on and everyone I talked to had a terrible story to tell of family members being butchered. It's amazing to see them moving on.”

Major Gonsalves' battalion also helped build a new school in an area just south of Bo called Gondama after taking over the school building that existed there.

“The Government negotiated with the chief of the area that the military would move in, occupy the school, but we then built up a better school area,” he explained.

“It was almost finished when I left. The soldiers helped out with some labour, and also some villagers got involved.”

The Bermuda Regiment soldier found the Sierra Leone people very friendly and accomodating.

“Because of the security state we had to stay pretty close to our trucks,” he said.

“The trucks had to be packed with extra water, extra fuel and medical packs. There was a state of emergency on with the war going on but that finished at the end of January. Now the Police go out if there is any sort of trouble and the military is there to assist.

“The UN had about 18,000 troops, the biggest UN operation in the world.”

There are also about 18,000 military personnel from Sierra Leone, but the intention is to reduce that number to about 12,000.

“IMATT has been there since 1999 and word is they will be there for the next 20 or so years. When they had the war ECOMOG, a group of African nations, came in and tried to bring some stability to the country.

“That didn't work out too well and that's why the UN took over.”

Major Gonsalves was paid a salary by the Bermuda Regiment while in Sierra Leone and they also covered the cost of his air fare. While there he was paid ?30 a day by IMATT for food.

“He was very much a pioneer from our point of view,” said Lt. Col. Gibbons.

“We want to do a post mortem on how it went and what we can get out of it and what we're giving as a country.”

Major Gonsalves says the experience was an memorable one and one of the things he will miss is the friendly people.

“I can use all those adjectives to describe it...soul enriching, coming out as a better person,” he stated.

“It was an experience of a lifetime, the first time the Regiment has done an operational tour like this since World War II.”

He is now searching for another job.

“I didn't think it would be prudent to ask them to hold my job open for seven months,” he explained of his job at the Bank of Butterfield.

“Where I worked in the Corporate Banking Department, it was very busy and very stressful area so it wouldn't have been fair to ask them to hold it for me.”